"Rare earth mining is poisoning Mekong River tributaries, threatening ‘the world’s kitchen’", 29 Apr 2026, Associated Press

[...] demand for fish is falling due to worries over contamination of the Mekong River and its tributaries by toxic runoff from rare earth mines upstream that is threatening millions who rely on those waters for farms and fisheries.

Thailand is bearing the brunt of the mining boom as such toxins imperil its global food exports — from bags of rice in U.S. supermarkets to edamame snacks served in Japan and garlic used in Malaysian kitchens. Responses remain local and limited, while smuggling and Myanmar’s civil war complicate regional fixes, raising concerns for downstream Cambodia and Vietnam.

“Our worry is that toxins accumulate in the rice we export. This would make our rice farming industry, which is our culture, collapse,” [...].

Warnings to ethnic minorities in the hills of northern Thailand to avoid using river water are painful for the Lahu, who are famed as fisher people, [...].

Recent water, fish and sediment samples from Mekong tributaries had high levels of dangerous heavy metals, such as arsenic, mercury, lead and cadmium, from rare earth mining [...].